To our friends from the Miller Tree Inn, thank you for helping us to embrace girlie road trips!
Amy and Brandi, you are a testament to a long lasting friendship!
:) Thank you for keeping me laughing after breakfast!
xoxo
Emma
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blogging from the Goon Docks
I realize that the Pacific Northwest is known for being rainy. But, c'mon! Enough already!! Everyone said that the drive to Astoria is just beautiful, but all we saw were clouds, fog, clouds and rain. I haven't seen the sky in 5 days. There is a light rain falling outside the hotel room right now, but the weather forecast for today calls for "mostly cloudy" after about noon. *Fingers crossed*
We are staying at the Red Lion Inn in Astoria, which is not the lap of luxury, but at least it has a history. This motel used to be called the Thunderbird Motel, and it is where the cast and crew of The Goonies stayed when they were filming here. Emma and I have decided that we are staying in Sean Astin's room. Hey, it could happen!
Today we're going on a kind of Generation Xer's movie location dream hunt. Movies filmed in and around Astoria include: The Goonies (yeah!), Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, and (I think) WarGames.
After today, we head for home.
Lizzie
We are staying at the Red Lion Inn in Astoria, which is not the lap of luxury, but at least it has a history. This motel used to be called the Thunderbird Motel, and it is where the cast and crew of The Goonies stayed when they were filming here. Emma and I have decided that we are staying in Sean Astin's room. Hey, it could happen!
Today we're going on a kind of Generation Xer's movie location dream hunt. Movies filmed in and around Astoria include: The Goonies (yeah!), Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, and (I think) WarGames.
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| Our hotel is located at the docks, and has a great view of the Astoria Bridge |
After today, we head for home.
Lizzie
Monday, November 23, 2009
IF YOU DON'T HAVE OVARIES, THIS POST WILL HOLD NO INTEREST FOR YOU.
I'm going to come clean... I'm a Twilight fan. Emma is, um, not. I love the books, and think that the movies are decent adaptations, but not great cinematic art. I started reading the series several years ago before all the craziness started. However, I am NOT a fangirl. When we started knocking around the idea for this road trip, we planned to visit Portland, Seattle and Astoria. It seemed like a great opportunity to take 101 from Seattle to Astoria, and take a quick trip through Twilight Country. Then I realized that New Moon was being released the very weekend we were going to be there. Hmmmmm.....
We boarded the ferry from Seattle at noon. It's a 45 minute trip to Bainbridge Island, which is absolutely lovely. I'm guessing it's like the Northwest version of Catalina. It is very picturesque. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from there to Port Angeles.
We arrived at Port Angeles at about 3:30, and the next showing of New Moon was at 4:45. So we bought our tickets and then headed across the street to the Dazzled by Twilight shop. Spent some time shopping for swag. The merch was definitely better than Hot Topic type stuff, but since I'm not a teen fangirl I didn't see a lot that I just had to have.
Then we wasted some time in the coffee house/internet cafe next door (for you Harry Potter types it was called Veela Cafe). Then we went back across the street to the Lincoln Theater to watch the movie. It was a good adaptation, but New Moon is my least favorite of the Twilight Saga, so I thought the movie was basically OK. The theater was on the shabby side and the screen was the size of a postage stamp. And we had some rude-ass people sitting behind us, which probably didn't enhance the movie-watching experience. I realize that a-holes can be found in movie theaters world-wide.
Where to go for dinner after watching New Moon in Port Angeles... Bella Italia of course! (Ironically, it is just two doors down from the theater) Of course, I had the mushroom ravioli. The restaurant is small, but tastefully decorated. It doesn't look anything like how I pictured it in my head.
As a side note, EVERYONE on they Olympic Peninsula is trying to cash in on Twilight. Everywhere there are signs advertising "Bella Burgers" or some other thing to get Twihards to eat at their restaurant or shop in their store. I don't blame them. This is a kind of economically depressed area, and the Twilight phenomenon is really bringing tourism to an area that never expected to become a tourist attraction.
The drive to Forks from Port Angeles was... creepy. It was VERY dark and a little foggy. We thought it was eerily similar to a scene in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I assume that the Olympic Peninsula is beautiful in the daytime.
As part of this wholehearted attempt to capitalize on the books and movies, the Forks Chamber of Commerce has created some tourist sites for the Twihards, and we're staying overnight at one of them. The Miller Tree Inn was designated as the "official" Cullen house, because it most closely resembles the house as described in the books. It is an early 20th Century white farmhouse that has been converted into a Bed and Breakfast. It really caters to Twilight fans, but fairly tastefully. Emma and I have a room that has two beds, and a fireplace, and a whirlpool tub (which our hetero selves utilized by rolling up our pant-legs and sitting with our feet in the water).
The owners of the B&B were very nice people, and breakfast was yummy. The best part was talking to the other guests in the breakfast room. Two other pairs of hetero life mates (from Seattle, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Chicago) who were in town to hit the Twilight sights. We swapped stories and had some laughs before going our separate ways. Since we had a long drive ahead of us, we decided to skip some of the photo ops in town (Forks H.S., the hospital, etc.) as well as the drive to La Push.
The drive to Astoria was 4 1/2 hours, and we arrived at dusk, so most of our activities here will have to wait for tomorrow.
We boarded the ferry from Seattle at noon. It's a 45 minute trip to Bainbridge Island, which is absolutely lovely. I'm guessing it's like the Northwest version of Catalina. It is very picturesque. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from there to Port Angeles.
We arrived at Port Angeles at about 3:30, and the next showing of New Moon was at 4:45. So we bought our tickets and then headed across the street to the Dazzled by Twilight shop. Spent some time shopping for swag. The merch was definitely better than Hot Topic type stuff, but since I'm not a teen fangirl I didn't see a lot that I just had to have.
Then we wasted some time in the coffee house/internet cafe next door (for you Harry Potter types it was called Veela Cafe). Then we went back across the street to the Lincoln Theater to watch the movie. It was a good adaptation, but New Moon is my least favorite of the Twilight Saga, so I thought the movie was basically OK. The theater was on the shabby side and the screen was the size of a postage stamp. And we had some rude-ass people sitting behind us, which probably didn't enhance the movie-watching experience. I realize that a-holes can be found in movie theaters world-wide.
Where to go for dinner after watching New Moon in Port Angeles... Bella Italia of course! (Ironically, it is just two doors down from the theater) Of course, I had the mushroom ravioli. The restaurant is small, but tastefully decorated. It doesn't look anything like how I pictured it in my head.
As a side note, EVERYONE on they Olympic Peninsula is trying to cash in on Twilight. Everywhere there are signs advertising "Bella Burgers" or some other thing to get Twihards to eat at their restaurant or shop in their store. I don't blame them. This is a kind of economically depressed area, and the Twilight phenomenon is really bringing tourism to an area that never expected to become a tourist attraction.
The drive to Forks from Port Angeles was... creepy. It was VERY dark and a little foggy. We thought it was eerily similar to a scene in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I assume that the Olympic Peninsula is beautiful in the daytime.
As part of this wholehearted attempt to capitalize on the books and movies, the Forks Chamber of Commerce has created some tourist sites for the Twihards, and we're staying overnight at one of them. The Miller Tree Inn was designated as the "official" Cullen house, because it most closely resembles the house as described in the books. It is an early 20th Century white farmhouse that has been converted into a Bed and Breakfast. It really caters to Twilight fans, but fairly tastefully. Emma and I have a room that has two beds, and a fireplace, and a whirlpool tub (which our hetero selves utilized by rolling up our pant-legs and sitting with our feet in the water).
The owners of the B&B were very nice people, and breakfast was yummy. The best part was talking to the other guests in the breakfast room. Two other pairs of hetero life mates (from Seattle, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Chicago) who were in town to hit the Twilight sights. We swapped stories and had some laughs before going our separate ways. Since we had a long drive ahead of us, we decided to skip some of the photo ops in town (Forks H.S., the hospital, etc.) as well as the drive to La Push.
The drive to Astoria was 4 1/2 hours, and we arrived at dusk, so most of our activities here will have to wait for tomorrow.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Library girls do... Um... Stuffs
Everything. Lizzie and I kicked ass doing everything.
There was crazy snow coming down at Mt.Shasta and we ended up putting chains on the car. This is the part where I get really excited about putting on the chains.. but we ended up paying for help with the chains. Lizzie and I were supposed to practice putting the chains on but had been distracted by shopping.
We drove up the freeway towards Yreka at 35 MPH until it looked decent enough to take the chains off. We ended up in Weed. Oh yes...Weed!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Seattle
Got to Seattle before noon. Checked into our hotel (a Holiday Inn, which is OK, but not as nice as the boutique hotel in Portland). Our first stop was Voula's Offshore Cafe, which was featured on "Diner's Drive-ins and Dives." It did not disappoint! Two words: Greek Hobo. YUM! Guy was totally on the mark.
Check out this video-- Emma had the Greek Hobo and I had Smokey the Salmon. Voula's is exactly what the video shows: both of her sons were working, and we even sat at the same spot at the counter where Guy sat. What the video doesn't show is their biscuits and gravy. We didn't order it, but it looked wonderful! Three heaping ladles of gravy. NOM NOM!
After brunch we went to the Seattle Center, which is where the Space Needle is located. We did not feel the need to go up to the observation deck. Right next to the Space Needle is the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum. At first we weren't quite sure if this was something we wanted to do with our limited time in Seattle. It was really fun! I came to the realization that I am a complete dork!
Then we made our way to Pike Place Market to watch men throw fish. We only had an hour before the vendors closed, which is too bad because the market is really fascinating! Then we had a lovely dinner with Emma's friend.
Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!
~Lizzie~
Check out this video-- Emma had the Greek Hobo and I had Smokey the Salmon. Voula's is exactly what the video shows: both of her sons were working, and we even sat at the same spot at the counter where Guy sat. What the video doesn't show is their biscuits and gravy. We didn't order it, but it looked wonderful! Three heaping ladles of gravy. NOM NOM!
After brunch we went to the Seattle Center, which is where the Space Needle is located. We did not feel the need to go up to the observation deck. Right next to the Space Needle is the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum. At first we weren't quite sure if this was something we wanted to do with our limited time in Seattle. It was really fun! I came to the realization that I am a complete dork!
Then we made our way to Pike Place Market to watch men throw fish. We only had an hour before the vendors closed, which is too bad because the market is really fascinating! Then we had a lovely dinner with Emma's friend.
Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!
~Lizzie~
Friday photos
Up early again. Bleg. We were planning having breakfast at a joint that I saw on DDD. I was dying to try their Amaretto French Toast), but instead we're going to try Voodoo Doughnut again. None of us are exceptionally hungry, and time is a factor this morning.
Here are a few pics from yesterday:
Here are a few pics from yesterday:
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| Joint that we found near Mt. Shasta. Bwahahahahaha! |
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| Weed. they had a whole souvenir shop with T-shirts that said "I *heart*Weed." Funny Stuff. |
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| A light dustin. We put the chains on (...OK, we got some help with that), and then took them off pretty quickly when it became apparent they weren't necessary. |
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| View of downtown Portland from our hotel. |
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| Powell's = happiness |
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| Super awesome books I bought @ Powell's |
No left turns... AGAIN!
Yes cats and kittens, Lizzie, Scout and I will be leaving for Seattle soon. Scout will be leaving us for this leg of our trip. She will be spending the Thankgiving weekend with her dad.
Last night we attempted to go to Voodoo Donut. This did not work out as there was a fatty line... and no place to park. There was a lot that was $2.00 per half hour. When we went in it, the guy told us the fee would be $10. Oh. Hell. Naw! There was nothing on the parking sign that said $10.Lizzie and I agreed that sheisty practices were in play and left the lot. Since we are sticking by the "we stay together" theory, no donuts were had because we couldn't be together. We're going to try again this morning.
Portland is a gorgeous city. The downtown area, where we're staying, is vibrant and glorious, There's an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants in very pretty buildings. I love it!
PS: Portland hates left turns. We ended up driving over 10 minutes out of our way because I couldn't turn around!!!
Last night we attempted to go to Voodoo Donut. This did not work out as there was a fatty line... and no place to park. There was a lot that was $2.00 per half hour. When we went in it, the guy told us the fee would be $10. Oh. Hell. Naw! There was nothing on the parking sign that said $10.Lizzie and I agreed that sheisty practices were in play and left the lot. Since we are sticking by the "we stay together" theory, no donuts were had because we couldn't be together. We're going to try again this morning.
Portland is a gorgeous city. The downtown area, where we're staying, is vibrant and glorious, There's an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants in very pretty buildings. I love it!
PS: Portland hates left turns. We ended up driving over 10 minutes out of our way because I couldn't turn around!!!
Friday, November 20, 2009
A quick recap of today's travels:
We were making really good time until the snow flurries started at Mt Shasta. We decided to put on the snow chains.... and found out that we suck at putting on snow chains. We didn't keep them on for long before the snow started to thin out, and was finally turned into rain. This did put us a bit behind schedule.
We made it to Portland by about 5 p.m., and discovered that it is impossible to make a left turn anywhere in this city. Seriously. San Francisco has nothing on Portland. We drove in circles for 30 minutes before we could get to our hotel.
After a brief rest we headed out to a restaurant called The Screen Door, which came highly recommended by a friend of Emma's. Their menu is a "celebration" of Southern food. The food was divine and plentiful! After dinner we made our way to Powell's Books, which is a Portland institution. Powell's ROCKS. It is HUGE, and they sell both new and used, so there are all sorts of amazing finds there. They had an ENTIRE WALL (probably 60 shelves) of Tudor history. WOW!
After the bookstore we tried to find Voodoo Doughnut, another famous Portland landmark. Again we were hampered by the no left turn issue, and ended up going 5 miles out of the way before we were able to turn around. We finally located the shop, only to find a huge line snaking its way down the street. After a long and exhausting day, we decided to give Voodoo Donuts a shot in the a.m.
Sleep beckons... will try to post photos when we find the time.
~Lizzie~
We were making really good time until the snow flurries started at Mt Shasta. We decided to put on the snow chains.... and found out that we suck at putting on snow chains. We didn't keep them on for long before the snow started to thin out, and was finally turned into rain. This did put us a bit behind schedule.
We made it to Portland by about 5 p.m., and discovered that it is impossible to make a left turn anywhere in this city. Seriously. San Francisco has nothing on Portland. We drove in circles for 30 minutes before we could get to our hotel.
After a brief rest we headed out to a restaurant called The Screen Door, which came highly recommended by a friend of Emma's. Their menu is a "celebration" of Southern food. The food was divine and plentiful! After dinner we made our way to Powell's Books, which is a Portland institution. Powell's ROCKS. It is HUGE, and they sell both new and used, so there are all sorts of amazing finds there. They had an ENTIRE WALL (probably 60 shelves) of Tudor history. WOW!
After the bookstore we tried to find Voodoo Doughnut, another famous Portland landmark. Again we were hampered by the no left turn issue, and ended up going 5 miles out of the way before we were able to turn around. We finally located the shop, only to find a huge line snaking its way down the street. After a long and exhausting day, we decided to give Voodoo Donuts a shot in the a.m.
Sleep beckons... will try to post photos when we find the time.
~Lizzie~
Like the postal service, "through rain and sleet and snow..."
We made it to Portland. Will update on the arduous journey after dinner.
Emma & Lizzie
Emma & Lizzie
*Rolls over, hits snooze button*
It's 4 a.m. This is the part where I think that I don't really want to go anywhere, and would give anything for a couple more hours of sleep. We should arrive in Portland between 2-3 p.m.
~Lizzie~
~Lizzie~
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Supersonic Road Trip!!!
Scout, Lizzie and I will be on our way to Seattle a week from today! Come follow our planning and travels here!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
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